#Ethiopia: Rights group says repeated court delays undermine strategic lawsuit on IDPs’ return
Human Rights First has criticized repeated delays in a lawsuit it filed before the Federal High Court over the return of internally displaced persons (#IDPs), saying prolonged adjournments are weakening prospects for legal remedies and exposing broader failures in judicial response to displacement-related grievances. The case, first submitted in November last year, has reportedly been adjourned more than ten times, including delays in issuing summonses, which the rights group described as evidence of judicial inefficiency.
Speaking to Addis Standard, Tesfalem Berhe, Human Rights First Director said the lawsuit was conceived as a form of strategic litigation aimed at promoting the use of legal mechanisms, rather than political confrontation, to address grievances linked to displacement. He argued that had the court pursued a more strategic and law-driven approach, the case
https://addisstandard.com/?p=56647
TPLF calling for the International Community To sanction the Federal gov’t. Read more.
https://borkena.com/2026/01/01/ethiopia-tplf-calling-for-international-community-to-sanction-the-federal-govt/#TPLF#Ethiopia#IDPs#News
#Ethiopia: Rights group decries repeated court delays in #IDPs lawsuit against federal, regional authorities
Human Rights First has criticized the Federal High Court for repeatedly postponing hearings in its lawsuit against federal and regional authorities over alleged violations of the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), describing the delays as a “failure of the judiciary.”
The case, filed on November 4, 2025, targets the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Peace, and the regional governments of #Amhara, #Tigray, and #Oromia. It was formally registered on November 15 at the Federal High Court’s Basic Human Rights Division.
Although the court initially scheduled a hearing for December 19, it has since been postponed multiple times, with hearings on December 19 and 26, January 3, 10, and 23 deferred. The court has now set the next hearing for Wednesday, January 28, 2026.
Reacting to the latest delay, Tesfalem Berhe, Director of Human Rights....
Read more: https://addisstandard.com/?p=54731
#Ethiopia: More than 1,300 IDPs died of hunger in #Tigray camps, official says
More than 1,300 internally displaced persons (#IDPs) have died from hunger and lack of medical care in camps across Ethiopia’s Tigray region over the past three years, according to a regional official cited by AFP.
Gebreselassie Tareke, a director at Tigray’s Social Affairs Office, told AFP that at least 1,309 people had died in IDP camps, warning that conditions are deteriorating amid declining humanitarian assistance.
“The situation is getting worse,” he said, noting reduced support from both the federal government and international aid organizations. He added that one of the most affected camps hosts around 150,000 people, with many others at risk.
Recent reporting by Addis Standard points to similar conditions on the ground. On 19 March 2026, it reported that at least 333 IDPs had died at the #Hitsats camp since May 2025 due to hunger & lack of medicine, while 125 deaths.....
Read more: https://addisstandard.com/?p=56035
#Ethiopia: #Tigray Interim Administration rejects Tselemti return model, reaffirms commitment to IDPs and territorial claims
President of the Tigray Interim Administration, Lt. Gen. Tadesse Werede, has rejected the approach used to facilitate the return of internally displaced persons (#IDPs) to #Tselemti, describing it as counterproductive and warning that it should not be replicated elsewhere.
Speaking in Shire Endaselasie during celebrations marking the Feast of the Trinity, Lt. Gen. Tadesse said the experience in Tselemti had become “a conspiracy that is causing Tigray to lose,” according to local media reports.
He stressed that, even in the name of peace, the administration would not abandon efforts to ensure the return of displaced persons or relinquish what it considers Tigray’s territorial claims.
In December 2025, Addis Standard reported that IDPs returning to the war-affected districts of Tselemti, Laelay Tselemti, and Mai Tsebri in ....
Read more: https://addisstandard.com/?p=54613
Dozens of IDPs reportedly died of famine in Hitsats camp in Tigray. Read more. https://borkena.com/2025/12/25/ethiopia-dozens-of-idps-reportedly-died-of-famine-in-hitsats-camp-in-tigray/#Ethiopia#News#Tigray#Famine#IDPs
Rebuilding a sense of normalcy after forced displacement in #Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, many individuals are faced with forced internal displacement, primarily due to ongoing conflicts and natural disasters, such as earthquakes, drought, or floods. As of mid-2025, the #UN estimated that more than 3.3 million people in Ethiopia were internally displaced (#IDPs).
Fleeing home is never an easy decision; it is often guided by individuals’ need to keep their family and themselves safe.
When gunfire erupted close to her home, Yubo Mulu, a mother of five, could only think of taking her children to safety. “There was no time to take anything,” she says, “we just ran with the clothes we were wearing”.
With five children, the journey was difficult and exhausting. They walked eight kilometres under the sun until they reached the #Melka_Adi IDP site, tired, frightened, and unsure of what awaited them. “I was praying the....
https://www.rescue.org/eu/article/rebuilding-sense-normalcy-after-forced-displacement-ethiopia
#Ethiopia: More than 330 IDPs reported dead in #Hitsats, 125 in #Adwa as coordinators warn of worsening humanitarian crisis
At least 333 internally displaced persons (#IDPs) have died at the Hitsats center in Tigray since May 2025 due to hunger and lack of medicine, while in Adwa 125 people have died since October 2025.
DPs and camp officials told Addis Standard that shrinking humanitarian assistance and continued new arrivals are pushing already vulnerable communities into what they describe as a life-threatening crisis, intensifying pressure on limited resources.
Displaced residents and coordinators in Hitsats say the situation has further worsened, with rising fatalities, disease outbreaks, and reduced humanitarian support.
“To speak of the conditions in Hitsats, one must see it with their own eyes,” said Abrha Mebrahtom, coordinator of the Hitsats IDP center. “Though there were good starts previously, they have now ceased. People are wasting away;.....
Read more: https://addisstandard.com/?p=55953
#Op_ed: Beyond the “Hostage” Narrative: Conditioned immorality, politics of displacement in #Ethiopia
In this op-ed, Yaekob Yatene challenges the claim that internally displaced persons (#IDPs) in Ethiopia—particularly from Western #Tigray—are “hostages” used for political leverage. He argues the framing oversimplifies a crisis shaped by insecurity, weak governance, and unresolved territorial disputes that hinder safe return.
The author describes this as “conditioned immorality,” where societies grow desensitized to suffering, reinforced by a “politics of selective visibility” that politicizes Tigray’s displacement while leaving IDPs in #Oromia and #Amhara regions largely overlooked.
Yaekob underscores that instrumentalizing displacement weakens accountability, noting: “When displaced people are dying of hunger, the question is not who is holding them—it is who is failing them.”
https://addisstandard.com/?p=56562
#Ethiopia: Limited cash availability in #Tigray banks affecting aid delivery to displaced people, OCHA official warns
Limited cash availability in banks across Ethiopia’s Tigray Region is affecting the ability of humanitarian organizations to deliver assistance to displaced communities, an official from the #United_Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (#OCHA) has warned.
Lokuju Peter, head of OCHA’s Tigray sub-office, said humanitarian actors are facing operational difficulties linked to limited cash availability in local banks, which has constrained aid organizations’ ability to support internally displaced people (#IDPs).
Peter said the challenge comes at a time when humanitarian actors are also facing reduced assistance from donor countries, further complicating efforts to maintain aid operations in the region.
According to Tigray Television, the remarks were made on 4 March 2026 during a discussion held in Mekelle on the ....
Read more: https://addisstandard.com/?p=55588
News: The process of returning displaced persons to #Western_Tigray remains difficult – #PM_Abiy
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) told parliament that efforts to facilitate the return of internally displaced persons (#IDPs) to Western Tigray continue to face serious challenges, citing political contestation and competing territorial claims over the area.
The Prime Minister made the remarks during the 10th regular session of the 6th House of Peoples’ Representatives (#HoPR), while responding to lawmakers’ questions on the situation of displaced communities across the country.
Abiy said the federal government’s primary difficulty lies in Western Tigray, where, according to him, certain actors have obstructed return processes by “sowing seeds of exile and displacement” and using displaced populations as political leverage.
He stressed that any Ethiopian, including original residents of Western Tigray, has a “100 percent right to live peacefully in the area.”....
Read more: https://addisstandard.com/?p=54960
#Op_ed: #Tigray Under Lt. Gen. Tadesse: One year on, results fall short
On 8 April 2025, Lt. Gen. Tadesse Worede was appointed president of the Tigray Interim Administration (#TIA), marking one year in office today, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed extending his tenure for another year. In his assessment of Lt. Gen. Tadesse’s first year in office, Amanuel Tadesse argues that “Obligations outlined in the Solemn Undertaking remain largely unmet.”
He adds, “A year on, performance has fallen short of these commitments.” Efforts to return internally displaced persons (#IDPs) have been politicized; “#DDR implementation remains incomplete,” and civilians face widespread abuses as “security structures have become instruments of political repression.”
The author concludes that “Lt. Gen. Tadesse’s tenure reflects deeper structural crises,” characterized by factionalism and weak governance.
https://addisstandard.com/?p=56404